Lutheran

ELCA Bishop: Care For Each Other In Age of Coronavirus

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Note: On March 8, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton issued the following letter regarding coronavirus and COVID-19, the resulting illness now spreading around the world. It also appeared on the ELCA website.

In 1527 the plague returned to Wittenberg, Germany. Two hundred years earlier the plague had swept across Europe killing up to 40% of the population. Understandably, people were anxious and wondered what a safe and faithful response might be. In answer to this, Martin Luther wrote “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague.” In it, he emphasized the duty to care for the neighbor, the responsibility of government to protect and provide services to its citizens, a caution about recklessness, and the importance of science, medicine and common sense.

Wittenberg, Germany

To provide care for the neighbor, Luther recommended that pastors, those in public office, doctors and public servants should remain in the city. Luther himself remained in Wittenberg to care for his people. He recommended that public hospitals be built to accommodate those with the plague. He condemned those who took unnecessary risks that put themselves and others in danger of contagion. Luther also encouraged the use of reason and medicine, writing,

“God has created medicines and has provided us with intelligence to guard and take care of the body. … Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence”

(“Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague,” 1527).

We are living in the time of the coronavirus. We are also living in the time of social media and constant, relentless news coverage. Many of our people have the same concerns as those in Luther’s day. Many of our people are anxious. Luther’s counsel, based on Scripture, is still sound. Respect the disease. Do not take unnecessary risks. Provide for the spiritual and physical needs of the neighbor. Make use of medical aid. Care for one another, especially the most vulnerable.

The churchwide organization recommends the following for churchwide staff: Wash your hands, stay home when you are sick, wear a mask if you have symptoms, consult your medical provider. Bishops and pastors will provide guidelines for worship and church gatherings.

Luther also reminded his people and us that we should trust God’s faithfulness and promises, particularly the promise eternal life. Paul writes:

“ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

Romans 14:8

In peace,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

A Lenten Message From Sierra Pacific Synod

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The following message from Sierra Pacific Synod Bishop Mark Holmerud originally appeared in the synod’s February 26, 2020 newsletter.

[Recently], as a group of ELCA leaders visited and prayed on both sides of the border with Mexico, the California Assembly issued an apology for the role our state played in rounding up about 120,000 people during WWII – mainly U.S. citizens – and moving them into 10 concentration camps, including two in California. 78 years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans. In a unanimous vote, the Assembly passed the following resolution:

“Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly apologizes to all Americans of Japanese ancestry for its past actions in support of the unjust exclusion, removal, and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and for its failure to support and defend the civil rights and civil liberties of Japanese Americans during this period.”

I remember my mother telling me that one of her best friends, who was Japanese American, was suddenly taken from their Linda Vista neighborhood in San Diego along with her family and never heard from again. My mother’s family, who were of German heritage and who spoke German in the home, faced no such reprisals. They were white.

The history of our country in its treatment of people of color is nothing less than shameful and horrific. In addition to the internment of Japanese American citizens during WWII, there is the decimation and colonization of the Indigenous peoples of America, the enslavement of people who were brought here in chains from Africa and the continuing discrimination people of African heritage deal with every day. Recently, government policies have been enacted that are separating Latinx families at the border who are seeking to immigrate to this country. Having just experienced what is happening at our southern border, I wonder, will it take nearly 80 years before the California Assembly or the United States Congress issues an apology to those who have sought asylum, refuge and justice from the people of a nation whose pledge of allegiance to our flag ends with the words “with liberty and justice for all?”

White Privilege, xenophobic attitudes and government policies foster other forms of race-based discrimination, oppression and violence. There are deep racial divides in our country. What does our church have to say about this and others who have been victimized? The history of violence towards and the repression of women seeking gender equality is a struggle that is far from over, just as the continuing struggle of LGBTQIA+ people seeking equity, access and safety is an ongoing concern in many parts of this country.

In the recent past, our ELCA has adopted statements which are offered as public apologies, teaching tools, and aspirations for how the Gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to see people as Jesus saw everyone – as a beloved child of God. These actions were taken as strong statements of our intention to seek and serve those who continue to cry out for justice, and who look to us as Christ’s representatives on Earth to be agents of peace and reconciliation. I invite you to follow the links below and wonder with others in your congregation / community / ministry how these statements might become conversations, ministries, actions — “God’s work with our Hands” — in and through your ministry for the community you have been called to serve.

Peace,

Bp. Mark Holmerud

Is It Time For Larger LEAN Partnerships?

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ACTIONN, NCG Could Be Apt Allies

By Sheila Freed

LEAN Advocate Bill Ledford and I recently attended an event hosted by ACTIONN (Action in Community Together In Organizing Northern Nevada) to kick off their 2020 Civic Engagement campaign.

The event was entertainment with a message, if you will. There was music interspersed with informal talks. All the speakers were pastors and lay people who have taken time off from their work and families to travel the country by bus, promoting the notion that ethics in public life is the only way to solve the problems this country faces. Their slogan is, “Faith, Hope, and Love.”

The group’s name is Vote Common Good, and it springs from belief that all religions, but especially Christian religions, need to take seriously God’s call to love one another and to care for the least among us. Their “Love in Politics” program calls for Christians and others to refrain from the rancorous discourse we all engage in. The group features the passage from 1 Corinthians 13 that begins “Love is patient, Love is Kind.” We are reminded that passage also says Love is not self-seeking, Love rejoices in the truth, does not dishonor others, does not envy or boast, and always protects.

Vote Common Good is non-denominational, comes from the Evangelical segment of Christianity, but recognizes that non-Christian faiths share the same desires for peace and justice for all. ACTIONN is also non-denominational and fully interfaith.

LEAN is somewhat like ACTIONN, because both seek justice and equality for all, but never endorse political candidates. Our methods are different. LEAN “speaks truth to power” at the Legislature through Bill Ledford, and strives to educate parishioners on the issues and on ways to be engaged, effective citizens. ACTIONN is more of a “community organizing” entity. There is a similar organization in Southern Nevada called Nevadans for the Common Good.

Both ACTIONN and Nevadans for the Common Good are generally referred to as “FBOs,” or faith-based organizing groups. Many people view community organizing as vaguely socialist, but in about 2010, the ELCA took positive note of the FBO movement. And today there is a section of the ELCA website devoted to “congregation-based community organizing.” The website notes that “[H]undreds of ELCA congregations have ventured beyond their walls through congregation-based community organizing to address the larger causes of the pressures they and their communities face each day. This can be a witness to the fact that we are a church that believes Jesus is God’s “Yes” to us. Our lives can be a “Yes” to others.

LEAN has considered collaborating with ACTIONN and Nevadans for the Common Good. Both call for membership of institutions rather than individuals. Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, based in Las Vegas, is a member of NCG. At least three Lutheran congregations are also members: Holy Spirit, New Song, and Reformation. No Lutheran congregations in Northern Nevada have joined ACTIONN, but individuals are active.

One Lutheran pastor wrote a few years ago that FBO’s such as ACTIONN and NCG are most effective when they empower ordinary people to hold public figures accountable to their commitments. This means public officials and those running for office will face questions from ACTIONN and NCG about policies that these groups support. The objectives are to establish effective, trusting relationships with officials while also holding them accountable. ACTIONN and NCG worked together last year to push through the Legislature some excellent measures, particularly in the area of low-income housing. LEAN supported these same bills.

The question now for LEAN is whether deeper collaboration with either or both groups would be appropriate or effective.

The Advocacy Beat Goes On

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The 2019 Nevada Legislature is slated to adjourn on Monday, June 3, barring a last-minute extension.

When it ends, the presiding officer in each chamber adjourns the meeting “sine die.”  This is a Latin phrase, universally mispronounced, that translates literally as “without a day.”  It makes it sound terribly final, as if no one is ever coming back again.  We all know that two years from now many of the same people will be back, often confronting the same issues. 

The work of government goes on, even when the Legislature is not in session.

LEAN’s work continues as well.  Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada exists for two related reasons:  To speak out on behalf of the least among us to elected officials, and to Lutherans and others across the state.  Both groups have power to change things.

LEAN has a paid Advocate at the Legislature during the Session. Bill Ledford has done well in his first session, testifying about proposals that the LEAN Board has chosen to take a position on. Some of these bills have passed, some have not. Next month we will sort some of this out.  Right now, a lot isn’t known, because so much legislation is decided in the last few days of a session. “Backroom Deals” are unfortunately common.

A previous post here was about several reforms that had been postponed because they carry spending requirements. Such postponements help set up conditions ripe for backroom deals, because pressure to “just get finished” is huge.

The deadline also enhances the power of lobbyists.  In the final days, there isn’t time for careful analysis of bills, and there is a tendency for legislators to rely on lobbyists for information, biased as it might be.

This is why it is so important for LEAN to have an Advocate at the Legislature.  Bill Ledford has been working all session to establish personal relationships with Senators and Assembly Members.  He has worked to explain why particular measures are good or bad policy in a just society.  He has worked to articulate our Lutheran Christian values as outlined in the ELCA Social Statements.

Bill’s advocacy and that of LEAN generally does not end at “sine die” any more than legislators become just private citizens when they go back home.  Bill will continue to connect with them, sometimes to discuss plans to try again in the next session to pass measures that failed, sometimes to discuss interim studies that take place between sessions.

The “interim,” or time between sessions, also is a time for LEAN to focus more on parishioners, helping them to understand the issues and the various ways those issues might be addressed. 

Financial support is needed to keep all this work going.  LEAN receives funds from ELCA Churchwide, and from the Sierra Pacific and Grand Canyon Synods.  We also receive support from congregations throughout the two synods.  LEAN is grateful for all support, and we operate frugally.

We hope to emphasize the “engagement” part of our name more in the next eighteen months.  Many know about the Legislative website, and about the resources it offers for keeping informed and for expressing views on legislation.  This does not disappear when the session ends.  We hope to do some training so more people can learn the tools at their disposal.  We are blessed to live in a state where direct access to elected officials is easy.  Martin Luther viewed committed, informed citizenship part of our Christian calling, and this is echoed in the first ELCA Social Statement, “The Church in Society.”  A lot has been written lately about how individuals need to work to reclaim democracy from special interests.  LEAN hopes to work with Lutherans and legislators across the state toward that goal.

Looking Forward, LEAN-ing Forward

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Bishop Deborah Hutterer of the Grand Canyon Synod.

Advent is a time of looking forward, of waiting, in hope and joyful preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN) is looking forward, too, with two important upcoming events.

Pencils For Pupils

In January, LEAN is sponsoring a fund raising effort called Pencils for Pupils. Former LEAN advocate and current board member, Rev. Mike Patterson, was for many years a public school teacher. Low income students were and are a special concern of his. Every parish in Nevada has members who are teachers, active and retired. They and parents know that schools do not provide all the supplies needed for classroom work, and that parents are expected to fill these needs. For a family struggling to pay the rent or buy necessities, this can be a real barrier to their children’s education. As we go into the spring semester, budgets for supplies, both at home and at school, are often exhausted. The donations that often come in for the fall are not repeated for spring. LEAN has an arrangement with Office Depot that enables us to buy at a significant discount. LEAN is asking for parishioners to make small donations to fund Pencils for Pupils. Please mail your donation direct to LEAN c/o Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 357 Clay St., Reno NV 89501, before January 15, 2019. Please put “Pencils for Pupils” on the memo line of your check, and note which congregation you are part of. Once the supplies are purchased, each congregation will be able to choose a school to receive them. The ELCA Social Statement on Education calls us to strive with others to ensure that all have access to high-quality education. This is one small way we can do that.

Legislative Forum

As the 2019 Legislative Session gets underway in February, LEAN invites all parishioners to attend a special Legislative Forum on Thursday, February 7  at 10 a.m. in the Legislature building. Discussion will center on issues that will be addressed in upcoming legislation.  Featured speaker Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer, Bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod. Bishop Hutterer was  installed in September 2018 and because Grand Canyon Synod covers Las Vegas, she is the Bishop for most of the Lutherans in Nevada. Bishop Hutterer is a lifelong Lutheran who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a young woman she felt called to ministry, but that was before Lutherans ordained women. After starting two businesses, and working in the insurance industry and in administration for Lutheran colleges, she came back to ministry. She was ordained in 2004, and was pastor to a church in Illinois. Most of Bishop Hutterer’s career has been in faith based social services. Before being elected Bishop, Rev. Hutterer was Chief Development Officer for Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest. In that role she traveled extensively throughout Arizona, preaching, presiding, and presenting at congregations and ministry groups on such topics as refugee resettlement, child abuse prevention, and aging. Her work enabled her to connect and collaborate with colleagues, congregations, ecumenical and interfaith partners.

LEAN is excited to be able to work with Bishop Hutterer, since she clearly shares a passion for social justice. All Nevada Lutherans should be eager to learn what she would like to see the Legislature pass in the coming session.

A luncheon will be served at no charge in connection with the event. There will also be opportunities to meet with Legislators. To RSVP, please email LEAN legislative advocate Bill Ledford. Lutherans from Southern Nevada are encouraged to attend as well.